Dreger.
the ma ag gaa in m zz in ee
the 17h May 2011 ০ Interview with the President! ০ About Istanbul ০ Teambuilding:We all need to play ০ Topic preparation ০
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EDITORIAL Dear all, welcome to the Istanbul Youth Forum! The Dreger Magazine, as one of the session newspapers, will try to provide a platform for exchaning knowledge, experienece and different points of view. Appart from the Press Team, every participant of the session is invited to contribute; both with ideas or articles, by approaching the Press Room or submitting the article to iyfpressteam@eypturkey.org. In this issue you can find out more about Istanbul, Jonas Dreger, the President of the session, as well as articles relevant to the topics at the session and much more. So for now, enjoy the session and try to make the most of it. Sandra&Didrik
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C ontent
3 Istanbul; The City of a Hundred Names 5 The 4 United Nations Conference on the least deTH
veloped countries
6 Head Organizers 8 High expectations 9 Teamuilding; We all have to play 11 It’s the future everybody! 12 The Industrial choice is up to us 13 Global challenge-European answers 15 Painting Europe, Painting China – A Family Portrait
16 Northern Africa is Europe’s problem, not USA’s. 17 Not a Member State yet? 18 Live together, die alone? 19 Europe: a hell within a paradise 20 Quiz 21 The start of something new
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I S TA N B U L T h e C i ty o f a H u n d re d N a m e s Welcome to Istanbul, the city of two continents; the bridge between Asia and Europe! It’s so hard for us to talk about the first impressions off the city, since we’ve lived here for a long time and gotten used to it, but we presume that you all will find it beautiful with the wonderful view of Bosphorus, dirty and a tough place to survive with its 13 million inhabitants and its 68000 cars in traffic.
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stanbul is also known as “the city of a hundred names” and Lygos, Byzantium, Augusta Antonina, New Rome, Constantinople, Kostantiniyye, Stamboul, Islambol, Dersaadet, Derâliye, Bâb-ı Âlî, Pâyitaht and Asitane are the most popular ones. Hundreds of its names came from many different languages since there were plenty of different nations and cultures that lived and developed in Istanbul throughout history. Its names give a lot of clues about Istanbul’s history. Firstly Lygos and Byzantium were the home place for Byzas. Then the name Augusta Antonina was given after a Roman Emperor; New Rome was also used during the rule of the Roman Empire. In 330, Constantine declared the city as the capital of the entire Roman Empire and renamed it Constantinople. Then came The Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire and Constantinople also became the center of the Greek Orthodox Church. There was also an intervention of The Latin Catholic Empire between 1204-1261, but then it was returned to the Byzantine Empire. Finally in 1453 it got the names Konstantiniyye and Istanbul after the Ottoman Empire conquered the beautiful city of Constantinople. The Istanbul that you arrive to today has belonged to Turkey since 1923, with many historical areas added to the UNESCO World Heritage list and also the European Capital of Culture for 2010. Istanbul and Constantinople are the names that are used today; actually there is a conflict going on about the usage of the name Constantinople. However, Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon wrote the song “Istanbul(Not Constantinople)” that implies to this conflict which began after the rule of the Ottoman Empire started.
Todays cosmopolit Istanbul is a result of all those varying empires and cultures that once ruled it. You feel like you are in an Arabic country while you are walking in the old city between the bazaars and the mosques, which we think you are all familiar with thanks to the movies. On the other hand, you can also feel like you are in Europe if you go to Taksim or Nişantaşı, the new city. After all that boring history background, let’s talk about the fun in Istanbul! All you need is a few tips about where to go and what to do. Firstly, if you want to go ahead and learn Turkish culture better your place is Sultanahmet, the old city. You can visit the Blue Mosque, the Ottoman Palace, also the legendary Harem with all its fun and the sultan’s women, and also Hagia Sophia. However if you want to drink and have fun, Taksim is the right place to go where you can try weird shots like “brain tumor”! Fancy night clubs like Ulus 29, Anjelique and Reina, all with a Bosphorus view, can be considered, too. But our favourite is “Al Jamaal”, a restaurant and a night club mixed with its concept of oriental culture, where you can dance with the belly dancers and eat Turkish delights which which are proven aphrodisiacs! For the ones who would like to shop until you drop, İstinye Park is heaven where you can find every brand, from Zara to Armani. Bosphorus tours, laser tag, dinner near Bosphorus, attending concerts or art exhibitons are other options. You can literally do anything you want in Istabul! �
by Ceren Hazar&Deniz Ertan
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Some interesting facts about Istanbul: -Istanbul is the only city in the world which spans two continents. -The Golden Horn is not the stretch of water which divides Europe from Asia, a common misconception. -Istanbul has been the capital of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, yet it isn’t the capital city of modern Turkey, which is Ankara. Istanbul is however the largest city in Turkey. -When the city was part of the Ottoman Empire there were over 1,400 public toilets all around the city. At the same time, there weren’t even toilets at palaces in France and the rest of Europe. -The vendors in Grand Bazaar can speak at least 10 different languages in basic level; enough to sell you the things you didn’t even want to buy a few minutes ago! -Istanbul was once ruled by a freak sultan who built the Maiden’s Tower in the middle of the sea just because a fortune teller told him that his daughter will be killed by a snake and made his daughter live there for many years until she was bitten by the poisonous snake that came out of the fruit basket! That’s it from us, now it’s your time to discover Istanbul.
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THE 4TH UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES A decade after the 3rd UN-Least Developed Countries Conference in Brussels, 5-day-long 4th UN-Least Developed Countries Conference took place in Istanbul last week. Head of states, CEOs, leaders of civil societies, parliamentarians, and scholars gathered to discuss different ways to help the 48 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in total around 900 million people. The conference aims to analyze the results of the 10-year Brussels Programme of Action, to tackle newly emerged problems and take advantage of new opportunities.
As Nelson Mandela remarked on becoming president: ‘’After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.’’” “The United Nations is committed to climbing these hills alongside you,” Mr. Ban added.
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What makes a country one of the least developed? The criteria take into account social, political and economical development of the countries. If a country has extensive political corruption, hostility between its ethnic groups, economic vulnerability and extreme poverty, it may be on the LDC list. However, one selection criterion draws the line: the average annual income per person. In these countries, around 75% of the population is below the poverty level. Although monarchy, AIDS (especially a major problem), and social turmoil are common characteristics for LDCs, they don’t apply to most LDCs in Oceania like Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Since 1971, only 3 LDCs (Botswana, Cape Verde, Maldives) have graduated but the ambitious goals for this decade is to cut down the number of the LDC to half. What did some ten thousand guests do at the conference? There were several tracks they could follow. When in intergovernmental track and parliamentarian track, political issues were debated among people who have political power, Civil Society track, Private Sector track, and Academia track offered different perspectives to the whole debate. In conjunction with the Civil Society track, The Civil Society Forum was held. Civil Society foundations like LDCs Watch have tracked the results of the Brussels Programme of Action during the 10 year period. The Private Sector has always been an important part of these conferences. Businessmen have been discussing Fair Trade and paving the way for new deals between LDC and non-LDC companies.
The last and the newest track, Academia has been implemented to invite voices of the scholars on these difficult issues. It is not charity! Many leaders had a similar message: Investing in LDC is also in the benefit of their country. There are several reasons for it. Firstly, the immense young population creates a huge workforce. Investments would increase the job opportunities in LDCs and the profit of the investor country. Secondly, extreme poverty and political turmoil in LDCs pose a threat to the rest of the world. It is not likely for a developed country to be safe, if it doesn’t help the LDCs and lets the poverty and turmoil get out of control. General Secretary of Ban Ki-Moon states that in the recent years the economies of Brazil, China and India has expanded rapidly. These countries can also be partners with LDCs and form a South Cooperation. �
by Lara Bideyan
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Head
organizers
Ekin and Damla have worked hard since the beginning of the forum. The two Head Organizers have created the session from scratch, step by step, day by day. They also managed an entire team of organisers, who all contribute to bringing the forum to its full potential. Who are these two young ladies full of energy and humour who are the driving force of the long-awaited 6th International Youth Forum? Between all their e-mailing and calling they donated us some of their precious time, to provide the answers.
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amla, 19 already has a lot of experience: she started EYP in Rotterdam in February 2009 and is also an experienced organiser, as she put together two community involvement projects before. Although they were not as big as the IYF, they served as try-outs which make leading and managing the work of a group a lot easier. She describes herself more like a friend rather than the boss for the orga team and sha has an excellent vision of the team: “I always tried to give the message that they can trust me but they also should make me trust them.” When you ask Damla what she has in common with Ekin, you quickly understand that they are similar, “You may not believe me but sometimes we simultaneously say the same thing or write the exact same sentence on skype. We are both very responsible and altruistic. It helped a lot to save time and decide quickly while organizing. I’m very lucky to have her in my team. She is everything and much more than a head orga”, she said. Same as any other HO, Damla also remembers her ups and downs of the preparation time. A massive increase in the session budget went down as her favourite moments, while leaving Istanbul for a while to go back home was really hard for her. Someone else, who has literally been dreaming about this session ever since she had her first experiences as an organiser, is 18 year old deputy HO Ekin. The commitment behind this is best described in her own words: “ordinary irritates me”. As you can imagine, the huge
task of putting together this event combined with her perfectionism was quite a distraction. Whoever is going to receive her AP exam papers for correction will most probably find numerous to-do lists doodled on the side. For any ordinary head organiser this devotion to the project would sound vastly overstated but for Ekin, it is a test run for what she might make her profession. Back in 2008 this artistic girl started off like most of us, at a NSC. Since then, she has tried herself in various positions, making friends for life along the way. One of these people, who she carries close to her heart, is fellow head organiser Damla, who she has loved for almost two years now. Another thing that needed to be squeezed out of the girls was some inside information on what to expect from the session. When Ekin revealed a story about returning from her USA trip with a suitcase entirely packed with plastic cups and straws in all forms, colours and sizes, we were deeply confused. She refused however to tell us more about that and simply mentioned that we are bound to find out the purpose of it soon enough. Highlights of the stay are definitely the cruise and the massive speed-dating session before the theme party. Furthermore, the most beautiful venue of the session was said to be Robert College – we checked that and as it turns out, you have a view of the Bosporus even from the toilets! �
by Teresa Stadler&Malvina Richer
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the DREGER “I don’t see myself as a driving force, I will be there for the ones that need me to unleash all the great potentials around. ”
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High Expectations Its 20.05, we are discussing the last questions, and then suddenly a pop-up: Jonas Dreger is online on Skype. Who is this mysterious man that will be presiding the 6th Istanbul Youth Forum? We figured we’d make him less mysterious by starting with the basic questions, but immediately noticed that this wouldn’t be as easy as we thought when the only answer we got after asking for his age was “younger than the teachers”. Though determined journalists as we are, we managed to find out that Jonas is 27 years old.
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hen asked for his expectations for the session Jonas overwhelmed us with a list of verbs that described the session for him. Amongst others were the words ‘dynamic’, ‘intense’ and ‘social’. However the word that stuck with us was ‘interactive’. According to Jonas we will see the full extent of this word during the session. For instance Jonas himself is planning to meet and talk to as many of the participants as is possible. Not only will he himself do this, but he will also facilitate the chairs in doing the same by planning the chairs meetings in a way that the chairs will be free in the evenings to chat with all the participants. Another example of the interactive character of the session can be found in the pressroom; we will be releasing a paper in which everyone can contribute, every participant can submit an article to the paper and get it published. Finally he mentioned the ‘new horizons speeches’ that will be held during GA. Every person at the session will have the opportunity to speech for 3-5 minutes between debates. Everyone, from the officials to the teachers to the delegates, is invited to do so. Another word Jonas brought up was ‘enjoyable’ which reminded us of the unofficial theme of the session ‘Play’. Jonas himself thought of this theme as it is a perfect match with his vision on EYP. Jonas believes that EYP is play; when we participate in EYP we are fully submerged in the session. We tend to be more free from the pressure of the outside world and are generally able to be more ourselves during EYP. Jonas believes that such an experience is akin to the experiences we all had playing as children.
Since “president” of a session is a rather vague position in the eyes of most of the participants, we asked Jonas what he’ll be doing during the session. He told us he wants to get rid of the mystery surrounding the presidential position and be approachable for everyone. In order to do this he won’t have his own committee to be able to meet everyone on equal grounds. Choosing not to chair a committee is quite an unconventional choice within EYP, therefore we asked Jonas how he sees himself in the role of president. “I don’t see myself as a driving force, I will be there for the ones that need me to unleash all the great potentials around. It’s like digging for gold, I will look around for the unused resources we can still use” He doesn’t think of himself as one of the most important people at the session, more as someone who connects all the different bits that chairs, organisers, journalists and delegates offer. When asked how he feels about the city of Istanbul he told us he’s been there twice before and that in his opinion “there are very few places better to host EYP, I certainly hope that the session will be very heavily impacted by Istanbul, Istanbul is one of the most fascinating places you could imagine. It is a melting pot of cultures and it is enormously rich in history.” Whilst speaking with Jonas, a man with a clear vision for this session, we became more and more excited for the session and are looking forward to seeing you all in Istanbul! �
by Boaz Manger&Laurens Kraima
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TEAMBUILDING I
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magine a dozen strangers from all over a country or even a continent gathering into a group and starting to play funny active games that make them remember names and personalities, even games that make them work as a team. The result? They make friends, start to earn each others trust and cooperate. But let’s not forget the most important part: they have fun, they play like a bunch of kids and for a few hours, they feel like the world is their playground. Veronica: “My first encounter with EYP teambuilding was not a very pleasant one and some of you might have had that same feeling. One can wonder how singing about a big fat pony is going to help discussing problems in the Middle East. However, that first time when you all gather in your committees you are all strangers in a group. It would be rather odd, not to say horrifying, to try and work together for days without properly trusting, respecting and knowing each other.” Emma: “I remember my first teambuilding as a great experience, although, in the first minutes everything seemed really dumb. Dancing and screeming around were never things I wanted to do in public but then I realized that this is the best way to get rid of your inhibitions.” EYP teambuildings try to put in light the best of eachother by creating an environment in which you will never feel constrained or ignorated.
What are teambuilding exercises and what are their purposes? Teambuilding games are used to help develop delegates and their ability to work together effectively. There are many types of teambuilding activities that range from silly games to games that involve complex tasks and are designed for specific needs. By using a variety of teambuilding exercises it will assist committees in becoming cohesive units of individuals that can effectively work together to complete tasks. A few concrete reasons for teambuilding are that they can improve communication, help with getting to know everyone, help delegates to learn more about themselves, improve team productivity, identifying and utilizing the strength of delegates and practice effective collaboration with delegates.
What are the different types of teambuilding games and what do they serve? Name Games You look at all the delegates in your committee and you feel that it will be impossible to memorize all their names. Name games guarantee that not only you will successfully memorize their names but you will also know a part of their personalities. Communication Exercise Communication exercises are problem solving activities that are geared towards improving communication skills. The issues com-
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We a l l n e e d t o p l ay mittees encounter in these exercises are solved by communicating effectively with each other. The goal is to create an activity which highlights the importance of good communication in committee performance and/or potential problems with communication. Problem Solving Exercise Problem Solving exercises focus specifically on committees working together to solve difficult problems or make complex decisions. The goal of this type of game is to give a committee a problem that is not easily solved and requires the committee to come up with a creative solution. This is a perfect preview for the committee work. Planning Exercise These exercises focus on aspects of planning and being adaptable to change. These are important things for committees to be able to do when they are assigned complex tasks or decisions. The goal here is to show the importance of planning before implementing a solution. Trust Exercise A trust exercise involves engaging delegates in a way that will induce trust between eachother. These exercises are not surprisingly created to develop trust between team members. Energizers It is sometimes crucial to do a quick exercise to refocus everyone during committee work. Due to late nights it is not unusual to see
some pale faces and energizers are a quick but effective way to get your pulse going again. MOTHERLY ADVICE:Don’t dress up and try to look all nice and cool cause you’re clothes will get dirty after just a few games. No one screams or says “honey, tell me that you love me” to a total stranger in an ordinary day, so try to take advantage of the funny things that you can do on the teambuilding and don’t get shy. Beautiful friendships had bound on the teambuilding field - socialize with all the members of the group. Our final words to you all is to embrace the teambuilding exercises because not only will you gain a lot for the purpose of your committee but this is also the time when you can make some great EYP friends. I also strongly recommend that you start out with a hearty breakfast and apply sunscreen. No burn victims please! �
by Veronica Moitus&Emma Nita
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It’s the future everybody! That’s right the future is just around the corner and guess what’s on the agenda; energy! Since the beginning of time energy has played a vital role in shaping the universe as we know it. The Big Bang is of course evidence of this, the universe born into existence in a wonderful flurry of explosive energy creating everything we have ever seen in our whole lives. Billions of years on energy is still playing a pivotal role in shaping our world.
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Human society has conquered the planet earth. There are very few places you cannot find or see traces of humanity on this beautifully multicoloured globe and those few secrets that still allude us I have no doubt will soon be discovered. We’ve even stepped on the moon and touched the surface of farther planets with our probes. None of these achievements would have been possible without the wonderfully versatile human mind and this exquisite and infinitesimally imaginative tool has created for us our saving grace, the thing which has allowed us to advance so far in, around and outside of our own world, which is of course technology. As all things in this universe technology needs powers, it needs energy. We must eat to live and so too must technology, be it in the form of a car, a rocket ship or an mp3 player, have a constant supply of energy in order to function. If you take a moment to look around you now you will probably be able to see a huge variety of items all of which require electricity or some other type of energy source to operate. This vast variety and multitude of energy consuming goods creates a huge demand for energy and this has become a problem for humanity. We thought we had struck gold when we discovered that burning fossil fuels could produce huge amounts of energy. We were not however so keen to look at the environmental repercussions of our actions and it has now become clear, with the amount of fossil fuels dwindling and, when burnt, the damage their emissions cause to our atmosphere, that they shall play an ever decreasing role in the future of the human race. But if not fossil fuels than what? We still have the same hunger for energy which means
that we simply have to find another source from which we can draw our power. The source of this power can be seen in the plain light of day. I am of course talking about the sun. Solar power and by extension renewable energy is an energy source with infinitesimal production potential, we can literally harness nature to fuel our society. Another prospective energy source is invisible to us but ever present in our lives. We are made up of teeny tiny sub atomic particles which treated correctly can yield ferocious amounts of energy. Nuclear energy represents one of the most advanced breakthroughs in humanities recent history. Utilised correctly it could put an end to our energy crisis it is however, as nearly everyone is aware, not without its dangerous drawbacks. So with renewable and nuclear energy sources developed and ready to go I can imagine you would ask why have they not already been installed and put in place? Unfortunately as brilliant and ingenuitive as humanity is we are equally as stubborn. We are resistant to change and changing a system which has helped to make us rich and powerful seems like a silly idea. This mentality must of course change before we can progress but as fossil fuels run out we see nations become more and more contrived as too holding out energy resources from other nations and as such we see the issue spill over into political feilds. Change is never easy but is often well worth the effort. Humanity now stands at a crossroads. We can either continue along the path we have been going or we can change direction towards a brighter and more energetic future.�
by Eoin Rogers
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The Industrial choice
is up to us
Setting up the workbench of the European future bearing in mind grand visions, past choices and resource scarcity: Which industries will ensure our competitiveness from 2030 onward and how can the European Union best support them?
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ave you ever wondered what led Western Europe into being characterized as the birthplace of modern industry? Is it the great scientists who want to use the new technologies for the sake of projects or is there another, inner and different, incentive? I would argue the second, which also explains the reason why the industrial development is always a very contemporary topic. Everything is based on economy and the EU tries to maintain its leading place on the international financial stage. According to Alberto Cammarata, official of the EU Delegation of Serbia, by raising the competitiveness of its industry and investing on modern technology, the EU will not only set the foundation for a promising future, but will also be able to find a way out of the economic crisis and secure sustainable development. However, not all businesses and industries meet the criteria to compose a competitive ground. First of all, we need to clarify what we mean by the term ‘competitive industry’. In economic theory, perfect competition describes markets such that no participants are large enough to have the market power set the price of a homogeneous product. Because the conditions for a perfect competition are strict, there are few if any perfectly competitive markets and respectively few perfectly competitive industries. Hence, perfect competition currently serves as a benchmark against which to measure real-life and imperfectly competitive industries. Consequently, according to the EU 2030 Industrial Framework, the goal is not to make perfectly competitive industries but manage to have as many industries as possible, which will be powerful enough to approximate the above-mentioned concept. Due to the economic crisis, Europe may be losing ground to other markets in terms of growth figures. New dynamic and competitive
players are emerging such as Brazil, Russia, India and China and this process risks shifting production away from Europe and diminishing or even reversing the EU’s competitive edge. However, rather than allowing industry to disappear from Europe, we need to modernize it and make it more environmentally friendly. We need to realize that the European industry is still globally competitive and a leader in a great number of markets. Thus, investors should be encouraged to invest in new and innovative technologies such as biomimicry, nanotechnology and biomechanics. It’s worth being mentioned though, that not every single industry needs renovation and that even without more funding of Research and Development, there are still some European industries which can maintain their place as global leaders. A great example is set by the European tourism industry, which is not only the most competitive in the international scene, but also has a lot of potential for development and growth after 2030. At the moment, in order to promote a successful industrial policy and ensure a strong future, the European Commission has set out a wide ranging strategy that aims to maintain and support a feasible, diversified and competitive industrial base in Europe. This industrial base will play an important role in meeting crucial objectives for the European economy, such as creating new jobs and promoting sustainable growth. It will also enable the industries to increase production without consuming more resources and energy or emitting more greenhouse gases. This way, industry will deliver the technologies needed to tackle climate change, sustainable mobility, management of scarce resources and demographic change.�
by Lavrentia Christodoulou
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Global challenges – European answers
by Jonas Dreger
Europeans
have had a defining influence
– for better and for The world as we know it today bears the footprints of Europeans. Not all of them are positive: It was Europeans who brought colonialism and world wars onto the world. Yet, it was also Europeans who offered solutions to the pressing global problems of their times: How to establish a fair society? How to ensure participation of citizens? How to regulate crime, trade and civil interactions? How to produce enough for a growing population? How to tackle the inequalities inherent in capitalist societies? How to cure diseases? European ideas have had an influence on the world that is hard to underestimate: The French revolution brought an end to the feudal system as we know it and established the idea that men are endowed with equal rights. The Napoleonic code civil and the German civil code have set the standard for law systems in Africa, the Arab world, Latin America and Japan. The idea of a nation is a European concept that was imposed onto Africa by the colonial powers. Capitalism, as it defines today’s world, finds some of its roots in the European-led industrial revolution. The stock markets have been developed in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and the UK. The German thinkers Marx and Engels were defining figures, which developed a criticism of capitalism that heavily influenced socialism. Yet, it is not only ideas but also technological progress that made Europe so influential. Take only the beginning of the last century: the first Noble Prizes awarded went in large parts to Europeans: Discoveries made by Germans, Brits, and Danes paved the way to curing tetanus, tuberculosis, malaria and treaton the world for centuries worse.
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ing cancer. A French-Polish collaboration laid the foundation for the development of a new form of energy production – nuclear energy. At the same time, the European answers of the past have also created many of the global challenges of today: The industrial revolution led to environmental pollution and climate change. Colonialism spurred ethnic and national conflicts and is partly responsible for the poverty in our world. Nuclear energy led to Hiroshima and Fukushima. The stock markets have destroyed global wealth again and again when its bubbles burst. It is in this time, that Europe has also lost its dominance over the world. It is not anymore European fleets that sail and dominate the seas, it is not necessarily European products that are defining the pace of technological progress and the appeal of European ideas is vanishing. Emerging powers such as China, India or Brazil are changing the face of the world and of its governance. Consequently, the world institutions are discussing reforms to better reflect the new global balance of power. Europe has united to form a single market that covers 500 million people – the world’s largest economic entity. And yet, while it is an economic giant, it is only one political and military player among many. This is the world our generation has been born into. The tectonic plates of powers are shifting, and Europe is not anymore able to impose its preferences upon other countries. And this is our time. In the not-so-distant future, the older generations will hand the world over to us. A world that is beautiful in its possibilities: millions of people are lifted out of poverty with the rise of the emerging powers, the Arab world is longing for democracy and the world starts to tackle problems of climate change and energy scarcity. Yet, this world is still in pain: poverty, environmental
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destruction, inequalities, marred with violent conflicts, scarce of resources and with poor decision capacities. The global challenges are manifold, and many of them are urgent, complex and interdependent. Most of those challenges share two distinct characteristics: they are growing old with the people that are supposed to solve them, and they imply an array of opportunities. The decision-makers of today do too little to address the global challenges of our times as issues begging for solutions. We will inherit the global challenges. Will we be prepared? Can we see the solution? Can we turn problems into opportunities? It is the task of our generation to use the distance to those problems we still have and to find answers to those questions that will be left for us to solve. We can already start now. So that once our time has come, we are armed with ideas. We will not come empty-handed, nor empty-minded. In the new world where Europeans need to convince their partners instead of imposing themselves on them, we will make a compelling case. For ideas and solutions always find their way. We will be sharp, creative, smart. We will be the European answers to global challenges.ďż˝
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Painting Europe, Painting China –
A Family Portrait
Taking into consideration the importance of Chinese export goods and the necessity for mutual trade, it is of great difficulty for the EU to find a common standpoint to China. Painting a family picture, the following family members of a China-EU trading grid need to have a place right at the core:
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he divorced mother, the EU. The European Union currently has no common approach towards China. While some favour trade with China regardless of its human rights violations and its neglection for a democratic government, others want to abstain from such “unconditional interaction” and set conditions for trade, like e.g. freedom of expression and speech granted. The father who does not pay for his children, China itself. It is an autocratic regime with strong and influential leaders and companies at the top of the country. China does not know any borders to its human rights violations and sovereignty beyond any criticism. It however depends on its divorced wife, Europe, namely on its markets for exported goods, who in return does not know how to handle this string of affection. The Granny, The Renmibi. China’s currency. China devaluates its currency, meaning holding it artificially low so their export goods are cheaper on the world market than the ones from other economies. In return, goods imported to China are more expensive than domestic Chinese goods and are therefore less consumed by the Chinese population. Granny’s hands are the ones that pull the strings in the background. By doing so, China is harming the global world
economy, some people even compare it to a bubble-like dilemma. As we all know, bubbles burst! The weeping daughter, The USA. The relationship with China is strained since the global financial crisis of 2008 as China is on the verge of surpassing the biggest world economy. Needless to say, this gives space for the EU to voice its interests and take advantage of the cracking bond between the far West and the far East. The gossiping neighbour. China’s neighbouring states are suspicious and envy China’s high GDP and exports – who knows what they are planting in their gardens?
How do the family members position themselves for a harmonic picture? Which combinations are possible and realistic? Over all, how dependent is the EU on China’s markets and what are its interests? Even though we are an idealistic society, a family reunion seems distant and still the question of how the divorced mother can get her leverage over the not paying husband back is of crucial importance. �
by Schima Labitsch
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Northern Africa is Europe’s problem, not USA’s. Commissions are sometimes the fairest way to adopt policies; seldom, if ever, are they the most effective. As a system for conducting military campaign, their shortcomings are evident.
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ublic concern about intervention in Libya is hardly relieved by the impression that nobody appears to be taking ultimate charge of the mission. The diplomatic impulse for action came from France and the UK; the US was, after some delay, recruited as a key advocate. Most of the military assets being used in the operations come from members of NATO, while the Arab League is mainly providing diplomatic support and hardware in the form of Emirian and Qatari military jets. The imperative of halting Gaddafis assault on Benghazi meant that it was incumbent to shoot missiles fist and ask organizational questions later. Yet, those queries quickly reasserted themselves and, almost as quickly, led to disagreement amongst anti-Gaddafi allies. The US does not intend to take the leading role, preferring NATO European members to conduct the conflict along their Mediterranean flank. That idea then came to a standstill, due to the disagreement between France and Turkey, which share different views on what should be happening in Libya. Paris desires maximum freedom to interpret the UN mandate for intervention, while Ankara is more circumspect and suspicious of a creeping escalation of NATO involvement in MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) . The British view seems to be mainly expressed in surly whispers of disappointment that the Americans are not more engaged and the Italian government is more focused on sordid home affairs than on Libyan agenda. No voice is heard from Berlin either. Until now, the significance of these divergences should not be overestimates. But they do expose fault lines that will become more dangerous if the Libyan operation protracts. It also reveals how disorderly the strategic dialogue can be among EU Member States when the US does not chair it. There are many reasons that push Washington to
be a semi-detached partner. American troops are heavily committed in Afghanistan. Public opinion in the US is not remotely prepared for a campaign against Gaddafi. The White House has little cause to agitate for a regime change in Tripoli. Mr. Obama may plausibly have resolved, as indeed he appears, that this particular MENA rebellion was not his fight. An alternative point of view is that President Obama, for obvious reason, weighed his country’s interest carefully before committing to another hazardous military intervention in an Arab country. Having agreed to get involved, he might have concluded that an entirely American banner draped over the operation would make it harder to gain support in the Arab world, and thereby hinder the chances of success. The logic of this conflict points to a predominant European operation. Tripoli is a short boat ride away from the border of the EU. It is thousands of kilometers away from the US. Historically and economically, Libya is within Europe’s backyard. The idea of a more assertive common foreign policy has been the ambition of a number of European leaders in recent years. It was one of the pillars behind the Lisbon treaty, which came into effect last year. Nonetheless, those ambitions have looked terribly naive as a social and political conflagration has occurred through MENA region. The US is looking weary of patrolling the world and, rightly or wrongly, feels ravenous of gratitude when it does. NATO will take command in Libya, therefore the US keeps on having a major role in military operations. But the lesson is clear: whatever happens next in North Africa is Europes problem.�
by Andrea Stagni
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Not a Member State yet?
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Turkey has been trying to enter the European Union since 1987, and it does not look like the negotiations will be successfully closed in the next ten or fifteen years. Blame it on the reforms needed in Turkey, demanded by the Copenhagen criteria? Or maybe blame it on the European skepticism that does not want Turkey as a Member State? The Copenhagen criteria, approved by the Council in 1999, requires that all candidate countries, in order to join the EU, must respect human rights and the rule of law, have a working economy market, and be able to assume all the duties and objectives of the Acquis Communautaire, the total body of EU law. Since Turkey first applied, it has been proved that major reforms have been taken in order to fulfill those criteria. It is true that the conflicts with Greece and Cyprus are still to be solved. But it is also true that the European Commission has recognised the strength of the Turkish economy and has congratulated Turkey for holding free and fair local elections. However, negotiations for the accession have been put on hold and the last moves were done in June 2010. By then, only 13 out of the 35 chapters
of the Acquis Communautaire were opened and only one of them (Science and research) was successfully closed. Inside the EU, the other side of the negotiations, not all the Member States agree on the entrance of Turkey in the EU. Whilst Cameron (UK), Berlusconi (Italy) and Zapatero (Spain) have positioned their countries in favour of the accession, other strong European leaders such as Sarkozy (France) or Merkel (Germany) continue opposing the entrance of Turkey. The concern of losing power in decision making – with Turkey having potentially the same amount of votes in the Council as Germany - and the religious question – the endless debate of the Christian roots and values of the EU - seem to be the arguments behind these decisions. Which is the real reason why Turkey is not a Member State yet? Is it really that far away from the ‘European standards’? Or is it the Europeans that do not want to open their borders to Turkey? Do the conflicts with Greece and Cyprus prevent Turkey to enter the EU forever? Blame it on… �
by Pablo Mellado
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Live together, die alone?
W
hen the euro was introduced in 1999, it seemed like a flawless idea. A shared currency meant shared monetary policies and it was a crucial step that the EU took in order to establish the perfect unification. And it kind of worked, too; after 12 years, 17 member states are using it as their official currency. The eurozones population is now 329 million people, which is larger than the US. The euro is more valuable than the US Dollar and since its introduction, it has slowly been abolishing US Dollar’s monopoly in international trade. However, there’s a slight difference between the eurozone and the US. In the US, the fiscal policies are decided by the central government and each state has to follow it no matter what. In the eurozone, on the other hand, each state has a unique economic structure so the unification in the fiscal policies are much harder to follow. Although the Stability and Growth Pact introduced unified fiscal criteria (e.g. budget deficit below 3% of the GDP, public debt below 60% of the GDP), the varied tax levels and difference in budget structures damaged the Euros stability and the eurozone faced an immense sovereign crisis in 2010, starting with Greece. It was time for the EU to take some innovative measures. One of these measures was European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), which was established in May 2010. The rules were simple: any state facing a bail-out could request a rescue package from this mechanism as long as they implemented drastic austerity plans and followed the Stability and Growth Pact. But instead of solving the problem and preventing bail-outs, this mechanism’s goal was to supply a rescue plan to the states that were going through an economic downturn. The eurozones despair was proven to be true when Ireland and Portugal also requested a rescue package from the EFSM.
These rescue packages started heated debates in the EU. According to a poll by Reuters, a majority of Germans want Greece to be expelled from the eurozone. Also, two-thirds of the German population opposed helping Greece in the first place. The Germans are not the only ones, too; after the elections in April 2011, the newly-elected Finnish government also stated that they opposed these rescue plans. Although the prime minister Jyrki Katainen calmed the fears of Portuguese Government later on by stating that they would not block the plans for helping the debt-ridden states of the eurozone, the debates are still going on in Finnish media. So, one can even say that these rescue plans are seperating the EU states instead of getting them closer to the ultimate unification. So one can’t help but ask questions at this point. How is the eurozone going to get over this mess? The taxpayers of the economically stronger states are not happy with helping the states who are facing bail-outs. They put their own countries well-being in front of the eurozones well-being. How can the fiscal union be established when national interests are at stake? How can the economic integration be reached when even the causes of the crises differ in each state? What is the perfect balance between the sovereignity of member states and the unified economic governance? What measures should be taken after all? Finally, there’s only one thing left to say: heated discussions are awaiting us in the next couple of days. We, for sure, can’t wait for the ideas that young and bright minds coming from all over the Europe can come up with on this very controversial subject. Good luck!�
by Joanna Kulpa&Anyl Eryilmaz
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Europe:
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a hell within a paradise
n 2003, Ssuuna Golooba arrives in the Netherlands as an illegal immigrant. He went to Europe with ambitions to make it big, leaving his life as a renowned photojournalist in Uganda behind. The situation he ends up in is the complete opposite of what he expects. There are hardly any jobs for him, because hiring illegal immigrants is a crime. For the little work that is available, wages are paid in cash, leading to a situation in which employers refuse to pay after he has worked 12 hours straight because ‘they have no money right now’. Ssuuna sleeps on the floor and is unable to get medical treatment when he needs it. In the meantime, his family in Africa accuses him of keeping his European riches to himself, for they do not believe his stories about the harsh conditions he is subject to in the ‘paradise called Europe’. Like Ssuuna, there are many people all around the world who dream of a better future. For us as Europeans, a quality life is part of our daily routine. However, in other countries our continent is considered a paradise, a world of unlimited opportunities and intangible riches. Those who live in the developing world desire better opportunities, and many expect to find them in Europe. As indicated by Ssuuna’s story, the reality that immigrants face is completely different from their expectations. On their trip to Europe, immigrants run into many challenges. Some end up putting their fate in the hands of human traffickers, others cross the Mediterranean sea on little boats which are not seaworthy. Living conditions are grim both during their trip and when they arrive in Europe, and many immigrants live a life which is not up to human rights-standards. European countries are unable and unwilling to accommodate every immigrant and their policies are designed to make illegal immigrants cause the least amount of trouble and costs for the state.
One of the ways to reverse this trend is to improve the living conditions in the immigrants’ home countries, which would make migration a less attractive option. If there is a relatively high life standard in a developing country, there is less of a reason to look for a better future elsewhere. The EU acknowledges this, and has included it as one of its aims in European development policy. By setting up cooperation programmes with countries that have a large outflow of migrants to Europe, the EU hopes to improve living conditions and discourage people from taking the insecure trip to the EU. As the Committee on Development, we will discuss how the European Development Strategy has to be changed to be more effective in tackling issues in those countries of departure. Which development approaches work, and which do not? Which countries should we target if we want to reduce the amount of immigrants coming in through southern Europe? How can we cooperate with them to provide the best help for their specific situation? These are all questions which the committee will have to consider to effectively tackle the problem of development cooperation in relation to immigration. For Ssuuna a new strategy comes too late, but he has found his own way to contribute. At the end of 2005, when 11 immigrants die in a fire at a detention center at Schiphol Airport, Ssuuna makes a decision. He starts working on what would later become the Surprising Europe project, through which Ssuuna and others try to provide a more realistic image of the fate of illegal immigrants in Europe. Thereby, they hope to contribute to reducing preventing what happened to them from happening to others. Their stories should serve as an inspiration for all of us to fight for a more effective development policy! �
by Wim van Doorn
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quiz
by Evelin Jürisson
Each correct answer gives you a point.
1) An off-line attack differs from an on-line attack because: a. one does not need an Internet connection at all to commit the attack b. the majority of ’work’ is done off-line after one has acquired necessary password hashes on-line c. one is able to hack into a server from a specific control computer without an Internet connection 2) Stuxnet is: a. the name of a Windows computer worm discovered in 2010 b. the on-line alias of the head hacker during the 2007 cyber attacks on Estonia c. the code name of a Syrian government-lead on-line attack against Facebook in 2011
3) What term is characterized as “important businesses and industries holding information which, if their cyber networks were successfully breached and disabled, could result in a threat to national security”? a. Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) b. European Network and Information Agency (ENISA) c. Information Assurance (IA) community 4) On June 7-10, 2011, where is the 3rd International Conference on Cyber Conflict going to be held? a. Copenhagen (Denmark) b. Debrecen (Hungary) c. Tallinn (Estonia)
5) What is the most important characteristic of a Chairperson? (bonus points) a. She’s tough but fair – the last ‘committee’ she was in charge of gave her a whip for a farewell present b. She knows the ABCs of Estonian humour which almost never includes actual laughter c. She stopped going to professional hairdressers because they refuse to believe she’s a natural blonde Answers: 1) B 2) A 3) A 4) C 5) A, B and C Results:
1 POINT – A weapon of mass disruption You only got that last one right, didn’t you? Make sure you read LIBE II’s resolution twice before raising your hand during GA. I would like your phone number, though – you seem to focus on the most important stuff at this forum.
2-4 POINTS – More ON than OFF the cyber wagon You know that having ‘drowssap’ as your password is not a clever way to protect your e-mail account but you still might think Stuxnet was a kind of Subway sandwich they ate in the Death Star canteen with Eddie Izzard. Be sure to make approximately 4.537 friends from LIBE II before GA to enhance your level of cyber awesomeness. 5 POINTS – Coming over to the dark side of the firewall? Considering your score, there’s a good chance that you’re already in LIBE II. If not, would you like to be? Otherwise, we will be looking forward to your questions/attack speech during GA because you clearly have some clue of what LIBE II’s resolution is going to be about. We’ll be the best of frenemies.
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The Start of Something New In mid May, a little over a year ago, I stood where you stand today, waiting for my second EYP session to begin, looking with mixed feelings of curiosity and nervousness at all the unknown faces in the crowd at Roberts College. Little did I know that all these people, in the week that was about to ensue, would have such a profound impact on my life.
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The 5th International Istanbul Youth Forum last year was my first international EYP experience, and it was a week that I will hardly ever forget. Only three months earlier had I participated in the Swedish National Session, and I was unsure what to make of it or whether the organisation was anything I would like to get further involved with. In the end, I decided to give EYP a second chance at convincing me of its value. Looking back at a year with its ups and downs, being involved both locally, nationally and more internationally, I can honestly say that I have never felt more content with a decision I’ve made. The EYP journey of session president Jonas Dreger (DE) began in the Northern German city of Schwerin approximately ten years ago. It began when Jonas, who had been convinced to attend the event by a teacher who had seen his hunger for new input, new experiences and new challenges, stood utterly dumbfounded at the opportunity of meeting so many like minded people with great hearts and minds. Although his delegation was not selected to an International Session (IS), he was immediately and completely enthralled “with the inherent magic of EYP.” We’ve all had our first EYP experiences, some greater than others. However, for many of you, the Istanbul Youth Forum (IYF) will be the first International EYP event you attend. I would therefore like to congratulate you on the achievement of being chosen to attend the session, an event which will hopefully alter the way you look at the organisation and the way you approach life. Most EYP journeys have their own be-
ginnings, cross paths with other EYPers at various occasions and have mostly different endings. So what do the people travelling down the long and winding road have in common with each other? The answer to the question lies in why they have decided to undertake the journey. “The reason why I carry on doing EYP is because it makes me a better person - I feel proud of myself, with every session I attend I ‘love’ myself even more,” says Head Organiser Ekin Arslan (TR) in a pre-session interview. “It has changed me drastically - I gained self confidence, self awareness, I found myself doing things I always dreamt of but never believed I had the courage to.” Ekin, whose international EYP journey began at the Olympic Forum in Greece in 2009, an event which inspired her “to get serious” with EYP, is not the only person who has seen her self-confidence rise after years in the organisation and who devotes her time to aiding the next generation of EYPers to feel comfortable in their “uncomfortable zones.” Editress Sandra Stojanovic (SP), whom you will most likely not see much of but whose hard work you will be enjoying everyday of the coming week, shares similar feelings and an interest to contribute to the organisation. “It made me feel good to be around other people and feel like I am contributing,” she told me as a reply to a question about why she had decided to stay involved with EYP after her first few sessions. “Also I felt that there were some roles that I would definitely like to try.” Chairperson Wim van Doorn (NL), who has been in the organisation since his school
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delegation was selected to the IS in Rennes in 2008, complements Sandra’s answer on wanting to try different roles within the organisation after his first international experience. “It was only after the session I started to think about what I could do,” says Wim referring to the session in Rennes. “The role of the chair was very interesting to me, and I had a chance to become a chair at some smaller events in the Netherlands and from that point on slowly realised how many opportunities there are in EYP and what a great concept EYP is. With every session I become more motivated to get involved in the organisation.” What most EYP journeys have in common now seems clear. A clear will to develop as a person, to aid other people with realising their strengths and capitalising on the opportunities the organisation provides as well as a clear will to explore every corner of Europe, meet new people with the same passion and hunger for knowledge, and a determination to try all the official positions at sessions around the continent. So what advice do these experienced people have in store for you in order for you to make the most of the session, and to turn the spark that resides within you into a burning flame? “Dear Delegates Have Fun!” says second Head Organiser Damla Sevgi (TR). “Yes, this year’s IYF is one day longer but it’s still too short to take advantage of the amazing people around you, the beautiful campus of Robert College and sophisticated atmosphere of Istanbul, so please try to enjoy every minute, take every opportunity to make new friends and exchange experiences.”
Other officials give similar advice. They all tell you to give it your best, put your heart into it, and enjoy every aspect of the session while being open minded, listening to what other people have to say and learn from the experiences you are about to have. “Life is a journey and there is no predicting the outcome, the only thing you can control are your choices. They’ll define who you are. I would just hate to see you so focused on the problem right in front of you that you completely miss the entire picture.” As I stood there at the Roberts College last year, I didn’t know what to make of EYP, but I decided to give it a shot. I gave it my heart, I opened up to what other people had to say and I gained friends with whom I shared one of the most amazing weeks of my life. It’s funny how one decision can have such a profound impact on one’s life. My last words of my advice before I check out are therefore, watch, listen and learn, but above all, stay true to yourself and who you are. �
by Felix Makarowski
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Editor: Sandra Stojanovic, Sub-editor: Didrik Helsing;
Journalists: Boaz Manger, Veronica Moitus, Lara Bideyan, Laurens Kraima, Teresa Stadler, Deniz Ertan, Emma Nita, Felix Makarowski, Ceren Hazar, Malvina Richer.